Hundreds of new homes controversially approved for Littleborough

Hundreds of homes will be built on former green belt land in the heart of Littleborough.

Hundreds of homes will be built on former green belt land in the heart of Littleborough.

The Rochdalian town has long been expecting these plans to come to fruition, but now Bloor Homes has permission to build 309 homes on the rural plot of land off Hollingworth Road. A new primary school and an extended Hollingworth Road Car Park are also part of the mammoth scheme in a ‘beloved’ part of the Rochdale borough.

The housing development has been massively controversial locally due to it being former green sapce, evidenced by over 1,000 objection letters being sent into Rochdale council.

The site next to Hollingworth Lake, a tourist hotspot, was taken out of green belt allocation following the approval of the Places for Everyone (PfE) plan last year. PfE will see thousands of new homes built across Greater Manchester.

The bulk of the many concerns raised by local residents include the worsening of congested roads at capacity; too many homes already in the town; exacerbated traffic pollution; and local health infrastructure on the brink of capacity.

The Littleborough Civic Trust (LCT) has been one of the scheme’s biggest opposers, previously raising concerns over the potential traffic impact this could bring to an already congested road network on the A58, Hollingworth Road and Lake Bank.

Expressing concerns at the latest planning committee meeting, LCT chair Ian Jackson said: “The roads are regularly at a standstill without 300-plus houses and hundreds of traffic movements. Summer traffic will also worsen significantly. 

“This will draw more traffic, more visitors and more noise.

“We accept houses are needed, but not here and not on this scale.”

One of the dozens of objectors present at the meeting on November 27 was Janine, who neighbours the development site. She explained that her home would go from peaceful to being surrounded by these new homes. 

Bloor Homes responded by saying they have met distancing standards and designed the housing to avoid overlooking, the meeting heard.

Speaking on behalf of the developer was Bloor Homes’ design and technical director Steve MacPherson, who said: “The development of this site will be done to the highest quality and the highest standard. These are family houses that will be delivered.
“47 families on the council waiting list will be able to access homes.”

Looking around the room, Mr MacPherson added that Bloor Homes is ‘never welcome wherever they build’, then pointed out that ‘everyone says they want housing until it is on their doorstep’.

Alongside the homes and the replacement car park for Hollingworth Lake Country Park, a new park and a tree-lined ‘green corridor’ linking Rochdale Canal to Hollingworth Lake with a circular footpath network are also planned.

Bloor Homes believe this scheme will help answer the housing emergency in the area. More than 20,000 people are currently on the social housing waiting list in Rochdale.

Recognising local concerns about traffic, Bloor Homes has promised an investment of £970,000 in road improvements. This comprises upgraded junctions, better bus stops and a significant contribution to the new A58 relief road.

Littleborough Lakeside ward councillor Richard Jackson as well as neighbouring ward councillors Ashley Dearnley and John Taylor highlighted how this relief road has been touted for two decades. 

“This application is the biggest example of profit over people,” Coun Jackson said. “This is just more milking the Littleborough cash cow. 

“People regularly describe Littleborough as follows: ‘lovely place, but wouldn’t want to live there with all the traffic’.”

Coun Jackson went on to describe the primary school plans as ‘absurd’, saying these new homes would actually bring increased secondary school students. This brings a different problem because secondary school places are currently oversubscribed, he told the committee.

Bloor Homes’ Mr MacPherson said that the money for the primary school could be alternatively used for an extension of the current Hollingworth Road Car Park, where it is proposed to be built.

The primary school proposal has only gained outline permission, but it would be up to the council to decide whether the education facility would actually be built. There have been questions raised over whether the new school is actually needed, with the Pennines Township committee saying that plan is based on out-of-date information from over 15 years ago.

After two hours of conversation about the development, the scheme was approved. The committee, booed by the dozens in the crowd, said they felt they had no choice but to grant permission due to the proposal falling under the wider PfE scheme.